Director’s diary

27 Jan 2019
Christine Hancock

Director’s diary

I do a note every week for colleagues (and for the charity’s record) telling them who I’ve met and what I’ve done and recently they suggested it would interest our network members and those wanting to learn more about C3.  C3’s name is Collaborating as we know that only through collaboration can society hope to overcome this epidemic of serious preventable disease (which claims 41 million people annually).

So, this week I met a pharmaceutical company who talk of “moving beyond the pill”.  On one level, they clearly benefit by more people being sick and needing their products.  How can we at C3 interest them in preventing ill health?

My colleague, Liz (C3’s research & projects officer), went to an event which looked at the health benefits of pets.  I really get it with dogs, not just “a man’s best friend” but gets you out walking no matter what the weather.  Cats might make you feel loved but they don’t get you exercising and I see no health benefits in goldfish! Liz met there the large charity, Groundwork and they came to meet us. They are a large charity which works with London communities to help them become greener, stronger and healthier.  They transform open space, connecting people with nature, providing training and creating jobs as well as reducing waste and energy use.  Liz told them about C3’s unique community-engagement programme CHESS and the Tower Hamlets project as well as telling them about our work in Halifax and Girvan and our recent work with IBM assessing how we can refine our CHESS tool. We definitely have similar interests and hope we can work together.

[Related post: Community Engagement in Tower Hamlets]

One of my Trustees introduced me to Share Action who work for a responsible investment system, geared towards the long-term interests of savers, society, and the environment.  They have traditionally focused on climate change and good work, including the Living Wage.  Now they are developing a Food and Health campaign aiming to challenge the leading food and drink companies to help the fight against childhood obesity.  Great to try and tackle the obesity crisis through shareholders.  I also hope they’ll look at investments in tobacco; I’m horrified that my local council invests heavily in tobacco.

We’re always keen to meet with new people to see how we can creatively make it easier for people to live healthy lives. Pop by our office or send us a note: info@c3health.org.